Dec. 30, 1996

Michigan State Tops Penn State 99-75

Nicole Cushing scored a career-high 26 points as Michigan State decked number 22 Penn State, 99-75, in a Big 10 Conference game.

Cushing made 10-of-11 shots from the field and all six of her free throws for the Spartans (9-2, 2-0), who defeated Penn State for the first time in school history. Cushing tied a school record for field percentage in a game and also pulled down six rebounds.

"Nicole Cushing had an outstanding game," said Spartans coach Karen Langeland. "To go 10-of-11 from the field and play as hard as she did is a real credit to her."

Kristen Rasmussen added 15 points for Michigan State, which opened a 55-30 halftime lead and shot 57 percent (41-of-72) from the field. Jamie Wesley had 12 points while Paula Sanders and Maxann Reese had 11 apiece.

Andrea Gardner had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Penn State (7-4, 0-2), which shot 47 percent (28-of-60) from the field. The game was delayed 20 minutes when Nittany Lions guard Jamie Parsons was inadvertently elbowed in the temple and taken to a local hospital. 

NCAA WOMENS BB  
         FINAL               1ST 2ND     TOTAL
         PENN ST (22)         30  45        75
         MICHIGAN ST          55  44        99    FINAL
 HIGH SCORERS:  PENN ST - ANDREA GARNER 20, HELEN DARLING 16,
                TWO PLAYERS WITH 8
                MICHIGAN ST - NICOLE CUSHING 26, KRISTEN
                RASMUSSEN 15, JAMIE WESLEY 12
 HIGH REBOUND:  PENN ST - ANDREA GARNER 10, ANGIE POTHOFF 7
                MICHIGAN ST - NICOLE CUSHING 6, PAULA SANDERS 6
 HIGH ASSISTS:  PENN ST - HELEN DARLING 5, ANGIE POTHOFF 2
                MICHIGAN ST - TAMIKA MATLOCK 11, CHERI EULER 4
          ATT:  1,541
                                                                        
NCAA WOMENS BB
PENN ST (75)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Hall            21   4-9   0-0   1-2  1  0    8
Pothoff         27   4-6   0-0   2-7  2  1    8
Garner          31  6-10  8-10  5-10  1  3   20
Darling         28   5-9   6-7   0-0  5  3   16
Longworth       23   3-6   0-0   0-2  1  3    7
Brewer           4   0-0   2-2   0-0  0  3    2
Macciocco       15   1-3   0-0   0-1  1  0    3
Parsons          3   0-0   0-0   0-0  1  0    0
Graby           12   1-2   0-0   0-1  1  1    2
Portland        13   1-8   0-0   1-3  0  2    2
Wicks           17   3-7   1-2   2-3  0  2    7
Jarosz           6   0-0   0-0   0-2  0  2    0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 28-60 17-21 11-31 13 20   75
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.467, FT-.810. 
3-Point Goals: 2-9, .222 (Longworth 1-3, Macciocco 1-1, Portland 0-5). 
Team rebounds: 2. 
Blocked shots: 1 (Graby).
Turnovers: 30 (Darling 12, Wicks 4, Longworth 3, Portland 3, Garner 2, Pothoff 2,
Graby, Hall, Jarosz).
Steals: 10 (Wicks 4, Garner 2, Portland 2, Darling, Graby).
MICHIGAN ST (99)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Sanders         22   4-8   2-2   0-6  1  1   10
Euler           28   3-8   2-3   1-2  4  0    8
Cushing         25 10-11   6-6   4-6  2  2   26
Matlock         23   3-5   0-0   0-2 11  3    6
Wesley          17  6-11   0-0   0-0  1  2   12
Dalgaard         5   0-1   2-3   1-2  0  3    2
Reese           20   4-7   2-2   1-1  3  0   10
Collier         14   0-3   0-0   0-1  3  4    0
Engen           13   2-6   0-0   2-5  2  0    4
Rasmussen       18   6-7   3-3   1-3  0  5   15
Winberg         15   3-5   0-0   0-2  0  0    6
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 41-72 17-19 10-30 27 20   99
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.569, FT-.895. 
3-Point Goals:0-3, .000 (Euler 0-1, Reese 0-1, Collier 0-1).
Team rebounds: 2. 
Blocked shots: 3 (Euler, Cushing, Reese). 
Turnovers: 18 (Rasmussen 4, Reese 4, Matlock 3, Collier, Dalgaard, Engen, Euler,
Sanders, Wesley, Winberg).
Steals: 19 (Wesley 4, Matlock 3, Reese 3, Cushing 2, Euler 2, Dalgaard, Engen,
Rasmussen, Sanders, Winberg).
__________________________________
Penn St            30   45  -   75
Michigan St        55   44  -   99
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None.  
A: 1,541. 
Officials: Bob Trammell, Bernie Barribeau, Ron Dressander.